Tag: NCAA Basketball

Aztecs and Lobos advance to the Mountain West Championship

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Photo credit: @UNMLOBOS

By: Ana Kieu

LAS VEGAS — This year, the San Jose State Spartans were handed a first-round exit for the third year in a row, but most, if not all, Spartan fans and alumnus were understanding of first-year head coach Jean Prioleau’s struggle because who reaches perfection in their debut year?

Anyways, let’s take a look at the semifinals of this year’s Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. Both games were broadcast live on CBS Sports Network: No. 1 Nevada Wolf Pack faced the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs on Friday at 6:00 pm PT, while the No. 7 Utah State Aggies took on the No. 3 New Mexico Lobos at 8:30 pm PT.

No. 1 Nevada vs. No. 5 San Diego State
The Nevada Wolf Pack were seeking revenge against the San Diego State Aztecs and what better way to do it than battling it out on the court in the semifinals of the MW Tournament?

Just five minutes into the opening half, Nevada trailed San Diego State 15-9. Aztecs guard Trey Kell put his defender in the popcorn machine and then found fellow guard Devin Watson for a 3-pointer.

The Aztecs continued to pour in the points in a successful attempt to suppress the Wolf Pack. Watson got his third triple and later stepped in for the jumper. Meanwhile, Kell hit a couple of threes. Wolf Pack forward Jordan Caroline led his team in scoring with seven points, but they continued to trail 34-16 with 7:55 to go in the half.

The Aztecs carried a whopping 55-25 lead over the Wolf Pack at the half. According to Stats by STATS, SDSU led No. 22 Nevada by 30 points, which marked their largest halftime lead by an unranked team against a ranked opponent since the Butler Bulldogs led 43-10 at the half against the No. 23 Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

The Wolf Pack got on the board first in the second half. Wolf Pack guard Kendall Stephens hit a layup just 14 seconds into the half. Yet, Nevada continued to trail SDSU 55-27 and basically succumbed to a large deficit throughout the half.

Aztecs center Kameron Rooks made some notable moves in the paint to help his team to a 70-43 lead with 9:55 to go in the half. Also, Aztecs forward Malik Pope threw down a dunk in a stellar completion of a tremendous play just a little over 40 seconds later.

The Aztecs had this semifinal game from start to finish and advanced to the championship game with a 90-73 win over Nevada.

Final stats: SDSU–FG%: 28-54 (51.9%); 3FG%: 8-23 (34.8%); FT%: 26-34 (76.5%). Nevada–FG%: 27-68 (39.7%); 3FG%: 7-29 (24.1%); FT%: 12-17 (70.6%).

No. 7 Utah State vs. No. 3 New Mexico
The Utah State Aggies upset the Boise State Broncos, but were they able to repeat against the New Mexico Lobos in the semifinals of the MW Tournament?

These two teams went back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the first half. However, New Mexico had the upper hand as they led Utah State by one (9-8) at the 14:16 mark of the half.

These two teams were tied at 12 apiece midway through the half. Then, USU went on a 11-0 run since the 14-minute mark and went ahead of UNM during a span of 4:01. Lobos guard Troy Simons hit a 3-pointer to end the Aggies’ lengthy run.

The Lobos went on a massive 17-0 run and closed out the half with a free throw from forward Sam Logwood. Meanwhile, the Aggies went cold out of the blue. The Lobos led the Aggies 37-25 at the half.

The Aggies continued the cold streak in the second half. The Lobos went on a 6-0 run to start the half.

After Makuach Maluach threw down a dunk, USU snapped out of their pointless streak and went on an 8-0 run that was ended by a jumper from Joe Furstinger at the 11:52 mark.

There was a timeout on the floor and the Lobos led the Aggies by 16 points, 75-59, with 3:56 to go in the half. The Lobos continued to hold onto its lead and guard Antino Jackson added a three with 18 seconds left in regulation.

The Lobos advanced to the championship game, where they will take on the Aztecs.

Final stats: USU–FG%: 24-57 (42.1%); 3FG%: 7-24 (29.2%); FT%: 13-16 (81.3%). UNM–FG%: 28-54 (51.9%); 3FG%: 7-24 (29.2%); FT%: 20-25 (80.0%).

Notes
Wolf Pack’s projected lineup: Charlie Todley, John Jones, Elijah Cooks, Caleb Martin, Cody Martin, Elijah Foster, Hallice Cooke, Lindsey Drew, David Cunningham, Kendall Stephens, Jordan Caroline, Josh Hall and Justin Brent.

Aztecs’ projected lineup: Devin Watson, Adam Seiko, Trey Kell, Michael Sohikish, Jalen McDaniels, Max Montana, Matt Mitchell, Jordan Schakel, Malik Pope, Nolan Narain, Jeremy Hemsley and Kameron Rooks.

Lobos’ projected lineup: Chris McNeal, Sam Logwood, Antino Jackson, Mike Mondragon, Joe Furstinger, Makuach Maluach, Jachai Simmons, Dane Kuiper, Vladimir Pinchuk, Troy Simons and Anthony Mathis.

Aggies’ projected lineup: DeAngelo Isby, Koby McEwen, Sam Merrill, Crew Ainge, Julion Pearre, Quinn Taylor, Alex Dargenton, Justin Bean, Brock Miller, Daron Henson, Diogo Brito, Dwayne Brown Jr. and Abel Porter.

Up Next
The Wolf Pack and Lobos will meet for the final of the Mountain West Tournament on Sunday at 3:00 pm PT.

Holiday, Bruins oust Cardinal from Pac-12 tournament with 88-77 win

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, March 08, 2018

UCLA guard Aaron Holiday sliced and diced Stanford to the tune of a career-high 34 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Thursday, as the Bruins defeated the Cardinal 88-77 in the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament quarterfinals in Las Vegas.

Holiday made 12-of-25 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 behind the arc. Thomas Welsh added 18 points and 11 rebounds for UCLA, which advances to the semifinals against No. 15 Arizona.

KZ Okpala led Stanford with 23 points. Reid Travis added 17 points and a team-high 14 rebounds for the Cardinal (18-15).

The Bruins (21-10) started quickly, withstood a late first-half Stanford run and maintained a consistent lead over the Cardinal in the second half. UCLA hit seven of its first 11 shots, building a 30-17 lead before Stanford responded with a 15-2 run to tie the game at 32-32.

Stanford closed its deficit to 44-40 by halftime, but, with point guard Daejon Davis in foul trouble, never could make a sustained comeback. Davis committed his fourth personal foul one minute and six seconds into the second half.

Going into the game, UCLA was considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, and Stanford had a slim chance to reach the bubble. The Cardinal won their first meeting with UCLA in double overtime, and the Bruins won by 16 at Pauley Pavilion in the teams’ last meeting.

Welsh became the 14th player in Pac-12 history to reach the 1,000-rebound plateau, now with 1,003 – fourth most in UCLA history. He passed the 1,000-point mark in December.

Stanford, whose chance to reach the NCAA Tournament dimmed considerably with the loss, is likely headed to the National Invitation Tournament.

Cal ends season with huge 76-58 loss to Stanford in Pac-12 Tournament

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Photo credit: @CalMBBall

By Joey Friedman
March 8, 2018
Sports Radio Service

College basketball fans were treated to a third installment of the Cal-Stanford men’s basketball rivalry series this season on Wednesday in which the No. 5-seed Stanford Cardinal beat the No. 12-seed California Golden Bears 76-58 to end the Bears’ 2017-2018 campaign, while the Cardinal simultaneously collected their first Pac-12 tournament win since 2015.

Th Bears only had two conference wins this season, but one of them did come against the Cardinal in the conference opener. In an incredible comeback against their rivals on the road, Cal overcame a 17-point deficit with 10 minutes to go and 97.4% win probability for Stanford with three and a half minutes left to win by a score of 77-74 and to improve to an even record.

Coming off of what would prove to be one of the highlights of the season, Cal was looking to have a resurgent second half on the backs of senior Marcus Lee, junior Don Coleman, freshmen Justice Sueing, and Darius McNeill. Their only other win of the season came against Oregon State on February 3rd.

In round two against the Cardinal on February 18th, Cal tied the game up at 67 apiece with four and a half minutes left, but couldn’t hold on at home as Stanford evened the season series by winning 77-73.

In the third game, Stanford had the lead the whole way. As mentioned by Cal head coach Wyking Jones after the game, Cal started slow and was never really able to put together a run to gain momentum nor were they able to get enough of a rhythm going to chip away at the Stanford lead which was at 11 points at the half behind 13 points and five assists from Reid Travis and 10 points from Dorian Pickens. Travis would finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds, Pickens would finish with 16 points, as Daejon Davis and Josh Sharma would both contribute 12 points.

Darius McNeill added all 19 of his points to Cal’s total in the first half as Juhwan Harris-Dyson added seven in the second half to finish at 11 points. Justice Sueing finished with eight points and five rebounds to compliment Don Coleman’s eight boards. Darius McNeill shot 7-17 from the field and 5-10 from beyond the arc to send his season mark for threes to 67, a single-season freshman school record.

Cal was out-passed, out-rebounded, and out-shot all around by the Cardinal; however, they forced the Cardinal to turn the ball over more often than Cal turned the ball over. Unfortunately, Stanford capitalized more off of Cal’s fewer turnovers, collecting fourteen points off Cal’s 11 turnovers, while the Bears were only able to convert Stanford’s 16 turnovers into nine points.

What’s Next?
Stanford: The Cardinal look to keep their slim hopes for an NCAA tournament berth alive as they take on the No. 4 UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 tournament.

Cal: This year’s performance can be viewed in a positive light when looking forward: a school record for losses in a season can only be improved upon. First-year head coach Wyking Jones looks to focus almost exclusively on individual player improvement during the offseason. With another year of experience for some exciting freshmen, a couple of four-star recruits already committed, and three more ESPN Top 100 recruits still considering Berkeley, next year could easily be a very successful one for the Golden Bears.

Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: Stanford dominates Cal 76-58 Pac-12 Tournament; face UCLA this afternoon

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

On the Stanford Cardinal Podcast with Jerry:

1 Turning to Stanford (17-14) men’s basketball, they played Cal (8-23) last night in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal dominated all game long.

2 The Cardinal were beaten last time these two teams met and they made sure they weren’t going to lose this time.

3 The Cardinal’s usual offensive core came through with Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey, and Reid Travis.

4  Jerod Haase says he believes that Stanford is an NCAA Tournament team.

Jerry Feitelberg does the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.co

 

 

 

Stanford routs Bears 75-58, moves on to face UCLA in Pac-12 Tournament

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gostanford.com photo: Stanford’s Travis Reid throws down against the Cal Bears on Wednesday afternoon at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas in the Cardinal’s first win in the Pac 12 Tournament

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Reid Travis helped No. 5-seed Stanford get off to a rolling start against No. 12 California in the opening round of the Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament in Las Vegas.

Travis led the Cardinal (18-14) with 19 points and 13 rebounds on 7 of 11 field goal shooting in Stanford’s 76-58 defeat of the Golden Bears. Dorian Pickens was next on the Cardinal scoring list with 16 points. “We’re certainly excited to be able to move on,” said Stanford head coach Jerod Haase “I think in tournament situations, you do build momentum once you’re in the tournament. So we feel like we have some momentum moving forward. We were able to catch Cal on a cold night. They didn’t shoot the ball great, but I thought our defense was for the most part active. We executed the game plan how we wanted.” Haase told gostanford.com.

Josh Sharma and Daejon Davis each scored 12 points for the Cardinal, and Oscar da Silva added nine points and eight boards. Stanford held a 51-41 rebounding edge.

By winning the rubber game of their season series, Stanford ousted Cal from the tournament. The Bears beat Stanford in their first meeting at The Farm for one of Cal’s two Pac-12 wins. The Cardinal won the rematch in Berkeley.

Stanford dominated the Bears at both ends of the floor. The Cardinal defense held Cal to 28 percent shooting while maintaining a 30-18 advantage on points in the paint.”A big emphasis for me is playing with the motor and just trying to get us started the right way when we start the game,” Travis said. ”So the more I can do that, the more guys got to start helping down and trying to make the right reads, the right passes.”

Travis had the hot hand early, scoring 11 points in the opening 10 minutes as the Cardinal built a 12-point lead. As a team, Stanford connected on 16 of 29 shots in the first half and led 29-28 at halftime.

In the second half, the Cardinal led by as many as 24 (63-39). Though, Stanford isn’t quite on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, the possibility remains alive after defeating Cal. But the Cardinal must defeat No. 4-seed UCLA in the second round.

Welage and Hillsman put on a show, but San Jose State falls 74-61 to Wyoming in first round of Mountain West Tournament

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans were looking to get a win in any way possible against the Wyoming Cowboys in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, but that win never came.

The Spartans found themselves in a similar hole as they suffered a huge blowout loss of 90-64 to the Utah State Aggies in the first round of the MW Tournament on March 8, 2017. San Jose State was hoping to turn things around, but Wyoming guard Justin James dropped 24 points on a perfect shooting night with a record of 9-9 FG, 3-3 3FG, 3-3 FT.

These two teams went back-and-forth after Spartan junior Jaycee Hillsman drained a 3-pointer in the first few minutes of the first half.

Then, Spartan freshman Caleb Simmons took the lead and the Spartan bench got fired up midway through the half.

Hillsman continued to pour in the points and led all Spartans with 16 points at the half. Welage scored 14 points. Yet, SJSU trailed Wyoming 40-30 at the half. Spartan head coach Jean Prioleau then shared his thoughts on his team during the intermission.

Hillsman stayed hot in the second half and even picked up a new career-high 22 points, but the Spartans were down by 20 with 7:48 to go in the half.

The Spartans never got their groove back and accepted a 74-61 loss from the Cowboys. Ryan Welage led all scorers with 25 points and Hillsman came in a close second with 24 points. SJSU’s disastrous season ended with a first-round Mountain West Tournament exit. Meanwhile, Wyoming advanced to the quarterfinals against the New Mexico Lobos at 6:30 pm PT on Thursday night.

San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu: SJSU unable to complete comeback at Air Force; Spartans will play for nothing but pride in Mountain West Tournament

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Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

On the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast with Ana Kieu:

1. San Jose State ended the regular season at Air Force. The team was hoping to make it two wins in a row after pulling off an upset of Utah State 64-62 on Wednesday night in the Event Center. What went wrong in the Spartans’ 83-61 loss to the Falcons on Saturday afternoon?

2. It was senior day for the Falcons, who cruised to a blowout win over the Spartans. How did Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich react towards SJSU coach Jean Prioleau after the lopsided final score?

3. Prioleau has a lot of work to do this offseason as he’ll enter his second season as a head coach at SJSU. What are a few things he must do in order to keep his job?

4. Spartans star forward Ryan Welage will become a senior next year. Just how hard would it be to find someone else like him following the 2018-19 season?

5. What are your three keys to San Jose State’s game vs. Wyoming in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament?

6. Give us a quick update on the SJSU football program as of right now.

Ana Kieu does the San Jose State men’s basketball podcast each week for www.sportsradioservice.com.

No. 11 San Jose State to face No. 6 Wyoming in opening round of Mountain West Tournament

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State men’s basketball team plays its opening round game of the Mountain West Tournament on Wednesday, March 7, at 4:00 pm PT inside the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will be broadcast live on Facebook and fans can find the streaming link below or head over to the men’s basketball schedule page for access. Fans can also tune in to Justin Allegri and Jess Knaster’s call of the game on KLIV 1590 AM.

Round 1 of the Mountain West Tournament
#11-SJSU (4-25) vs. #6-Wyoming (19-12)
Wednesday, March 7, 4:00 pm PT
Thomas & Mack Center (18,000)
Las Vegas, Nev.

TV: Facebook
Radio: KLIV 1590 AM

Spartans at the Mountain West Tournament
SJSU is working against some rough history at the Mountain West Tournament. Although it’s short history, the Spartans are 0-3 all-time in the tournament with a 25.3-point average margin of defeat. Last year, the #9-Spartans were knocked out of the tournament by #8-Utah State with a 90-64 beatdown.

History between SJSU and Wyoming
Wyoming controls the all-time series against the Spartans, 12-2. The Cowboys beat the Spartans in San Jose, 90-86, in overtime on Jan. 27 and won again on February 17 in Laramie, 89-75. SJSU’s last win over Wyoming came in 2015-16 at home by a score of 62-55. It was SJSU’s first win at home as members of the MW.

No shortage of points in first two meetings
SJSU averaged 80.5 points in two games against Wyoming this year. That’s the highest two-game average against any MW opponent this season, as was the 89.5 points per game that the Spartans gave up in the two losses to the Cowboys. SJSU’s Ryan Welage scored a new career-high 37 points to lead the Spartans while Justin James scored 30 points to lead Wyoming to a 90-86 overtime win in the first meeting. It was Keith Fisher III’s turn for a career-high 26 points for SJSU in the second meeting. But Wyoming had six players finish in double-figure scoring that day, led by Hayden Dalton with 22 points. The Cowboys hit 16-of-42 three-point field goal attempts in the 89-75 win over the Spartans in the second meeting.

Explosion of threes
In an attempt to guard against easy points around the basket, SJSU has been allowing its opponents to shoot 3-pointers at record volumes. Over the last five games, SJSU opponents are averaging 39 three-point field goal attempts and combined to shoot 35.5 percent (70-197). Wyoming set the MW record with 42 attempts in the February 17 meeting with the Spartans, but that record only stood for 11 days until USU put up 43 3-pointers against the Spartans. The strategy worked against the Aggies, who made only 12 of their 34 attempts, and SJSU capitalized for a 64-62 win. The other results, while the percentages weren’t high, the sheer volume of three-point baskets has been too much for SJSU to keep pace with.

Ryan Welage earns All-Mountain West honorable mention
The MW head coaches tabbed Spartans forward Ryan Welage All-Mountain West honorable mention. Welage receives the honor after leading SJSU in scoring 18 times during the regular season. He had 13 games of 20 or more points and two 30-point games, including his career-high 37 points against Wyoming on January 27. The Greensburg, Ind, native is the league’s most accurate free throw shooter at 87.5 percent (98-112), while making 45.7 percent of his shots from the field. It is the first all-conference honor of any kind for Welage.

Keith Fisher III provides second spark for SJSU
Redshirt freshman Keith Fisher III has developed into a top scorer and rebounder for the Spartans over the course of his first season. His per game averages for the conference season are 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. In the last five games those numbers jump up to 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds. The Los Angeles native has led SJSU in scoring in five of the last seven games, including a career-high 26-point effort at Wyoming on February 17. He scored a team-high 18 points in the team’s regular season finale at Air Force.

Hillsman returns to starting lineup
Jaycee Hillsman had come off the bench in 16 consecutive games before being inserted back into the starting lineup for the February 17 game at Wyoming. He made the most of that opportunity with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and was a starter playing heavy minutes for the remainder of the regular season. Since returning to the starting five Hillsman is averaging 12.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists, all of which are above his season averages. The Champaign, Ill., native was on the floor for all 40 minutes of SJSU’s 64-62 win over USU.

Welage is a Spartan great
Ryan Welage hit two major career milestones this season by reaching the 1,000-point plateau and becoming the program’s all-time leader in made 3-pointers. Welage scored his 1,000th point on January 9 at San Diego State, making him the 15th player in the 108-season history of the program. He has since risen up the ranks to seventh on the all-time scoring list with 1,233 points, and will take over sixth with just four points on Wednesday. In SJSU’s win over USU, Welage buried the 154th 3-pointer of his career making him the all-time leader at SJSU.

Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Matt Harrington: The Sean Miller story was the biggest distraction on Stanford’s road trip

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zimbio.com photo file: Arizona Wildcats’ head coach Sean Miller made his return to the bench last Thursday against Stanford. Miller has denied that he offered to pay Wildcats’ Deandre Ayton $100,000 to come play for the school.

On the Stanford Cardinal Men’s Basketball Podcast with Matt Harrington:

Stanford’s timing to be at the University of Arizona last Thursday was all the rage in the news and sports media world. UA is under FBI investigation and the Wildcats head coach Sean Miller, who is accused in a wiretap, according to ESPN; that he offered Deandre Ayton $100,000. Miller did not coach last week Saturday against Oregon, but his return to the bench Thursday was one for the books.

Before the media scrum who were trying to get a quote from Miller reporters even from major news organizations were covering the Miller story and it was Miller’s first game since the story broke and all reporters wanted to know if Miller did offer Ayton $100,000. Miller put out an statement saying that the allegations were false and concocted. That he was being defamed by ESPN and that he never offered any money to Ayton. Ayton also said that he never got an offer of any kind from coach Miller.

Daniel has details of Stanford’s trip to Arizona last Thursday which was a media circus on the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Cardinal survive wild finish to topple Sun Devils 84-83 in season finale

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, March 3, 2018

TEMPE, Ariz. – Playing in the Pac-12’s version of a home-away-from-home game, Phoenix native Dorian Pickens torched the Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10, 8-10 Pac-12) with 20 second-half points as the Stanford Cardinal (17-14, 11-7 Pac-12) hung on for a wild 84-83 win at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday afternoon.

“It was one of those things where (the emotions of coming back home) doesn’t really hit you until after the game,” said Pickens, a former Pinnacle High School graduate. “In the pregame, I’m just thinking about my teammates and trying to get the win. We were able to do that and my teammates helped send me out the right way.”

“It felt great to be able to come back home and come out of it with a victory. I had a lot of people here, maybe 20, 25, a lot of friends and family, and all of the above!”

On his offensive exploits in the second half, Pickens said, “I just wanted to be more aggressive, around the perimeter, especially.”

“He’s just a big-time player,” Cardinal Coach Jerod Haase said of Pickens. “It’s not really a surprise, but a great feeling to see him do that, especially at home in front of family and friends.”

“To win on the road against a team like (ASU) meant a lot.”

Reid Travis scored 24 points (8-of-14 field goals) and grabbed 14 of Stanford’s 45 rebounds. Kezie Okpala added 18 points and 10 boards for the Cardinal, who hit 51 percent (27-of-53) from the field.

Going into Saturday’s regular season finale, Travis was averaging 22.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last four games.

Travis described the final five minutes as “hectic. I wish we would have taken care of the ball a little bit more, but we got stops when we needed to, so I couldn’t be happier with the way we finished out the game.”

The victory gave Stanford a shot at finishing in the top four of the Pac-12 standings and a first-round bye in the conference’s upcoming postseason tournament in Las Vegas.

“In the non-conference, we battled and stuck together, which was really cool,” Haase said. “After the loss at home to Cal, our team has done some nice things. I think there’s still a long way to go with our quality of play, but the mental side, the competitiveness, is really cool to see as a coach.”

“Regardless of where we wind up, we’re going into (the Pac-12 tournament) excited.”

The Sun Devils, who struggled in conference play after a blazing start, look for redemption in the Pac-12 tournament. Tra Holder led ASU’s balanced attack with 19 points, followed by Shannon Evans II with 17 and 14 points each by Kodi Justice and Remy Martin.

Holder, Evans and Justice each hit three 3-pointers as the Devils were 10-of-27 behind the arc.

“This game is who we are,” ASU Coach Bobby Hurley said. “We have an amazing will to win, and character. The make the plays we made and claw our way back, we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

“I love my chances with the group I have against whoever we play in the postseason in Vegas and in the NCAA tournament.”

The Cardinal led by 19 points less than four minutes into the second half after opening the half with a 15-1 run after leading 40-35 at the break. But with basketball being a game of runs, Arizona State battled back with a 16-4 run, capped by Kimani Lawrence’s layup at 12:45, pulling the Devils to within 59-54.

“In 20 or 18 minutes against a team like this, there was never a comfort level at all,” Haase said. “Our guys stayed steadfast, continued to score on the offensive end, and we got enough stops on defense.”

Hurley said, “We got behind and always fought to get back in it. I thought the difference in the game could be as simple as the last four minutes of the first half, and we had empty possessions where we didn’t make shots that we usually make.”

“To start the second half, we didn’t have enough energy and (Stanford) was able to generate the lead that they did.”

Over the next three minutes, the Cardinal pushed their lead back to 11 on a Pickens 3-pointer, but ASU battled back again. Kodi Justice drained a 3 with 3:05 to play as the Sun Devils used a 5-minute, 16-7 run to cut their deficit to 79-77.

Another 3-pointer by Justice with 1:13 remaining tied the game at 82-82, but Arizona State could never surge ahead while both teams struggled at the free throw line down the stretch.

Daejon Davis, playing with four fouls, hit a jumper at :42 to break the deadlock, and on the ensuing possession, Justice missed a pair of free throws with :20 left. Two seconds later, Pickens missed two free throws, and after Josh Sharma missed a layup, Justice sank 1-of-2 foul shots to cut Stanford’s lead to 84-83 with 5 seconds remaining.

“Daejon has done so many great things throughout the year and he made a key basket late again,” Haase said. “For a freshman, he has a level of poise and calmness about him that, I think, spreads to the rest of the team.”

After Travis turned the ball over on an inbound play, ASU had one final possession, but Martin missed a short jumper as time expired.

“We made some mistakes, but they made some too,” Haase said. “There were some tough shots, some tough 3s. I thought we played with a great deal of poise and I thought this game would have a lot of ebbs and flows. And it did.”

The Pac-12 Tournament starts Wednesday in Las Vegas.